


On The Latest Steven’s Song Time, by CourageBadge

by liquidCitrus



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Blogging, Gen, Song Lyrics, Speculation, Tropes, Work Contains Fan(s) or Fandom(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 05:10:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8274164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liquidCitrus/pseuds/liquidCitrus
Summary: What if Steven Universe’s TubeTube channel was considered their world’s equivalent of lonelygirl15 - that is to say, a staged "vlog" with a storyline written by some aspiring filmmakers (with really good practical effects)? What would that fandom's speculation look like?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I dumped my brain into a text document for an hour. This was what happened.

On The Latest Steven's Song Time

by CourageBadge

\----

So, this latest ep (“Steven’s Song Time: Still Not Giving Up”) is a long-awaited lore update. We really haven’t gotten anything substantial for the past few weeks. I’m happy we theorists finally have something to sink our teeth into.

(And before you ask, the Cooking for this week (“Cooking with Lion: Snack Sushi”) doesn’t count, because Lion did something similar in “CwL: Burrito Pizza”. There really isn’t anything to analyze there. Seriously. Stop asking.)

So let’s pick apart the lyrics, shall we?

\----

 _Hey there have you heard about the infamous Gem war_  
_Well it all started long before I was born_  
_Thousands of years of fighting to protect the human race_ _  
It's been pretty tough keeping up the pace_

So far, so good. We already know that the Gem War started before the dawn of recorded human history, and that the Gems have altered human civilization. And man, trying to fight a war with just four (or three?) people is hard. Good thing they have superpowers.

The Crystal Gems have had the deck slowly but surely stacked against them. I’m not sure how they’ll win. But given the tenor of the show so far, I think that we’re seeing an Underdog Wins story.

_I sure have made my fair share of mistakes_

Wars are ugly things, even when they’re for justified reasons. I’m glad that @SU is tackling this theme in a complex and nuanced way. Unlike... well, almost everyone else.

I mean, holy gem, have you even seen the Lonely Blade season 6 finale? Unlike the characters on the show, I really can’t see myself excusing Himiku’s previous atrocities as being entirely due to the “Blade of Opposite Alignment”. Kono in season 5 already demonstrated that you can resist the effects of someone actively opposite-aligning your chi with a strong enough will. Just because Himiku was pardoned by his daimyo doesn’t mean that all that murder didn’t happen. But I digress.

_I didn't know that Rose Quartz was such a big deal_

Ever since “SST: An Incredible Legacy” introduced Rose Quartz, I’ve become increasingly convinced that she was someone important in the Gem War. The... leader, maybe? Or at least some sort of commander. Remember how Rose Quartz’s picture fell off the wall in “Further Lion Antics” and Pearl leapt in to catch it? And what Pearl said about RQ after that? Some of the fandom’s dismissed that as just Pearl being in love and idealizing her, but really, that monologue’s our main source on RQ, so I’ll assume that everything there is true until subsequent events clarify (or contradict).

It's a good thing @SU’s a TubeTube exclusive. I mean, this level of gay would make a network exec apoplectic.

_There are some wounds that even healing powers can't heal_

Some people argue that Steven might’ve inherited his healing spit from Rose Quartz. But I don’t really like that theory; I prefer the idea that it’s a unique expression stemming from his loving personality.

Steven’s healing spit has been well established as being usable on practically anything (ever since he licked his TV so he could finish watching Crying Breakfast Friends in “CBF Reaction: S02E15 Donut Daze”). So him saying that some wounds can’t be healed is... interesting. Maybe he is talking about emotional wounds?

 _Oh, I feel like I've messed up_ _  
_ _This magical destiny really kicked me in the butt_

Steven on the show has been shown to have an incredibly strict set of morals that he holds himself to, like always trying to redeem people even if they are actively hostile and maybe trying to kill him (seriously, see how Peridot acts in “Archaic Think-Chamber”). He believes he is responsible for saving everyone he meets. And that's really weighing on him.

I really like the writing in this show - it’s subtle but evident that he’s slowly cracking under the stress in the way that a real fourteen-year-old who fights in a guerilla war would. Best portrayal I’ve seen since the Plantmorphs series.

Beach City looks too small to have a therapist, so he’d probably have to go to Dagsboro, and even then we’re running into the good ol’ “can’t get therapy through the masquerade” problem, so I probably can’t hope for him getting professional help. Which is a real pity.

 _We've had some good times and some pretty bad luck_  
_But we're still in this together_  
_And we're still not giving up_  
_We're still not giving up_ _  
I'm still not giving up_

It’s really impressive that even through all this, Steven’s managed to maintain his positivity and love. I think that’s what’ll see him through. I hope that’s what’ll see him through, anyway.

 _Da da da da da_  
_Da da da da da da_  
_Da da da da da da_ _  
Da da..._

The tune here is reminiscent of “SST: We Are The Crystal Gems (One-Year Special)”. That video said that Crystal Gems was the first song Steven ever wrote. I suspect that the similarity was intentional.

\----

Anyway! That’s the end of my breakdown - as you can see, we’re getting into some surprisingly heavy stuff here. I haven’t finished digging into the Peridot’s Barn spin-off series (if you haven’t seen it, it’s at tubetube.com/creator/PERIDOT5XG), but you can expect an analysis of the first five videos on that channel by the end of this week.

As Steven says, I love you! Bye!


End file.
